The first installment of the trilogy, Juju Girl was shot in Accra and released in April 2015. The second, Shine– about a child, Ama, who was guarded and guided to safety by an anncestral spirit- was shot in Brooklyn, USA. The final installment, titled Running was released onto the internet last Friday. Running, which was shot in Bahia, Brazil, is basically about a family ehose threats-in the form of demolition men, are chased away by their guardian spirits, the Orishas.

This post though is to spotlight to those who may have not been aware, the folktale from which the second part of the Diasporadical Trilogia, Juju Girl, sprung. The myth, a very very old one, could be titled “Mamai Wata and the Musician” and it tells of…

“…a lonely singer [who] goes to the seaside with his musical instrument-which is his only companion, singing. A beautiful goddess known as Mami Wata comes out of the sea and makes love to the singer. After a while she leaves him and goes back to sea. The lonely singer returns the next day-again, with his instrument, sings so beautifully that Mami Wata the water goddess comes out of the sea and makes love to him again, and leaves after a while. This cycle is repeated the next day, and it becomes a rendezvous. Whenever Mami Wata returns to the sea though, this singer feels unbearable pain so much so that he begins to harbour fears that Mami Wata the lovely, powerful goddess might someday not come again. The prospect of this happening is so unimagineable to the singer, that only thinking these thoughts sadden and pain him, deeply.”

There is obviously a little variance in both tales, but then that’s typical of folklore, and besides, what an artistic licence to be used for?

Altogether, the Diasporadical trilogia has produced three breathtaking, spiritual films-produced by Blitz himself- that are deeply rooted in African spirituality- a testament to the endless magic our creatives could make from the timeless myths, legends, philosophies etc. of the ancestors.